Thursday, August 25, 2011

When I had begun researching domestic violence I was immediately shocked by some of the statistics which I had found. According to The Family Violence Protection Fund, 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence while in an intimate relationship. According to some of the other statistics provided domestic violence is becoming more prevalent. According to the group Futures Without Violence, there were 248,300 rapes/sexual assaults in the United States in 2007, more than 500 per day, up from 190,600 in 2005. After hearing this statistic I wondered whether this was a result of a growing population. I also thought that this could be caused by some sort of societal change like repeated exposure of violence through television or some other outward influence. Another fact that I found interesting was that domestic violence can have long term negative health effects. As stated by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, teen victims of physical dating violence are more likely than their non-abused peers to smoke, use drugs, engage in unhealthy diet behaviors. This further shows the urgency to prevent domestic violence as it can psychologically harm people for the rest of there lives.

1. What are some of the leading causes for the rise in domestic violence?